Popular Savings Account: Rate Drops Much Less Than Expected to 5%

The Bank of France governor has promised that the next People’s Savings Account (LEP) rate he offers will be well above inflation, which reached 3.7% for the year in December. And in many ways he kept his word. Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire officially announced this Monday during a conversation with readers of La Voix du Nord that the LEP yield available to the most modest French will be 5% from February 1, and for the next six months.

“With inflation below 3%, you’ll have a popular savings account that rewards more than two points above inflation,” welcomed the Bercy CEO. Before adding that “no other European country offers popular segments of the population such protection for their savings.”

Second promotion in six months

This slight reduction in the LEP rate from 6% to 5% is very good news indeed, since strict application of the formula, namely semi-annual average inflation, resulted in a theoretical rate of 4.3%. This is the second consecutive stimulus provided by government agencies to this regulated savings account, which rose to 6% on August 1, 2023, when it was supposed to fall to 5.6%. Favorable treatment in contrast to Livret A, whose rate was frozen on 1 August 2023 and for 18 months at 3%, which is far from the theoretical reward.

Enough to contribute to the revival of the people’s savings, dear to François Villeroy de Gallo, governor of the Bank of France. While 18.6 million French people are eligible for the program based on income level, the number of LEPs fell to 6.9 million and the outstanding amount was €38.3 billion. Today, 10.7 million savers have one depositor with a total value of 66.6 billion euros.